A wreck of a ship
by undercurrent8888
Summary: What now? Alone and isolated from the rest of the world, Tashigi and Zoro are forced to co-exist on the same ship, and are trying to survive until they arrive at an island...


Hey, don't know what to say as of now...

But either way, I evidently am not the creator of OP or anything inside it, but this doesn't actually happen, obviously...

Sweat beads rolled consistently down Zoro's face while he lifted the weights continuously. Grunting with the exertion, he counted his way to ten thousand. However, a shout roused him from his work, and he walked stiffly over to one of the windows of the crow's nest, his calloused palm unconsciously caressing the stark white hilt of her sword, Wado Ichimonji. There was a commotion brewing, as Luffy raced circles around the grassy deck, an angry orange blur just behind him. Snorting with amusement, Zoro didn't bother to join in with the ruckus, choosing instead to build himself up for her, to fulfill his promise that he couldn't forget, not while he lived and Wado remained. The weather was fine, a few cirrus clouds whisking above, and the water was a deep blue-green, with mysterious and dark depths. Marveling at the view, he allowed his tired body respite as he leaned forwards out the open window, facing the cool, salty ocean breeze. A small flash towards the left; he paid it no heed, knowing how the sun reflected cheerily off the waves in an inconsistent manner. However, as he thought about it, he started to feel uneasy about that flash; it seemed wrong, out of place. Suspicion and caution overrode his good mood, which evaporated under the sun, and he called Usopp up to help him, as he had the sharpest eyes.

"Oi, Usopp, get up here before I drag you up!"

Usopp, being the coward he was, clambered hastily up the ladder. Upon his breathless arrival at the top, Zoro gave his directions. "See that speck on your right? I can't really make it out from here. What is it?"

Usopp craned his neck as he peered, but try as he might, he could catch nothing. Turning around, he saw Zoro's hand pointing to the left. "Usopp... I thought you would know the difference between left and right..."

Usopp sweat-dropped as he ignored Zoro's mistake. As he lifted his binoculars to his narrowed eyes, he scanned the ocean and promptly found... a navy ship defiantly staring back at him. His spirits sinking, he read the fatal G-5 on the main sail, and let out an all-consuming wail of despair. "Its the navy- Smoker is on our tail! AHHHHHH!"

Zoro threw Usopp out the window, calling after him as he fell. "Don't forget to tell the others; and mention to the ero-cook that I won this time!" Disdaining to slowly take a step at a time, Zoro simply jumped and landed with feline grace, his muscled legs bending slightly to take the force of the impact with the reinforced deck.

"Showing off like that to the beautiful ladies! Think you can get away?" Sanji let fly a flaming kick in his righteous anger. "Don't worry, Robin-chwan, Nami-Swann! I have this beast under con-"

Zoro cut him off before he could finish, bringing the full force of his two fists down on Sanji's head as he dodged the foot. "I'm not showing off, you idiot!" He stalked off to the kitchen to get some sake, Sanji closely tailing behind, fully intending to teach Zoro a lesson before realizing that Zoro had now become far more powerful than he. This thought sobered him as he stopped cold in his tracks, contemplating on how to train to become stronger. While he was unaware of his surrounding, a rubbery figure slammed into him and continued its desperate running, with Nami still on its tail. He spun a few times before quickly righting himself, his face red with embarrassment.

At this moment, Usopp chose to unstick his face from the wooden planks as he struggled to give everyone the news through bruised lips and missing teeth. Pandemonium struck the crew; everyone was in a panic, especially Chopper, who clung onto Zoro, trying to hide. Zoro and Luffy, however, weren't panicking; in fact, Luffy was intent of "kicking some smoky ass and pilfering a bit of meat" while Zoro was busy chugging down sake by the barrel. Finally, he slammed it onto the deck with a resounding slam, the barrel cracking under the stress it was put through. "Enough! Franky, load us up for Coup de Burst! Nami, point us away from the G-5! And Luffy, stop slobbering or you'll kill all the grass!" Normally, he didn't take control of the situation, since that was Luffy's job. But this time it was needed to restore order to the chaos.

"Ready and primed! Hold on- three….Two…ONE….." Franky called from underneath after several minutes of preparation. Zoro peered at G-5, which was far closer now. There was no activity on board, the sail was in poor condition, and the whole ship seemed derelict.

"Hold it, Franky! Don't activate it!" Without looking back, he jumped from the Sunny and landed on the deck of the marine ship. There was an almighty roar and an explosion behind him alerted him to the activation of Coup de Burst. Realization dawned on his face, but it was too late, and the Sunny flew away, a shower of liquid diamonds twinkling in the air in its wake. He was stuck on this ship- for now. Cautiously, he crept down deeper into the ship. He could see a few bloodstains and signs of a quick fight in which the navy was hopelessly out-matched. Dead marines, if you could call these thugs marines, lay in pools of their dried blood. He moved about with dread settling down in his stomach, weighing it down and making him sick. Uncomfortable, he told himself, not sick. His boots clomped almost too loudly on the creaking floor, and his erratic steps were matched in a strange way by the ominous creaking of broken doors. Crunching through broken glass and debris, he scoured the ship, looking for someone without realizing. He found Tashigi, Smoker's second, lying on the floor. He glasses weren't cracked, a miracle in itself, and when he studied her, a trouble look in his eyes, he noticed that she seemed to be alive, but barely.

He gingerly picked her up and somehow found the infirmary, and laid her out on a bed that he cleared. He didn't know why he did this for her, why he would care for her. It was almost as if his body was acting on its own, and wished to help her, perhaps in Kuina's memory. He gently washed her wounds with antiseptic, having watched Chopper numerous times, and bound them with boiled rags and bandages. She was in poor condition, he noted as he studied her. Grimacing, he berated himself for stating such an obvious fact; it was amazing that she was alive. After a long time of wandering, he finally found the pantry, and carried much of its contents back to where Tashigi lay, snacking a bit while he was at it. If she was to recover, he would have to feed her, broth first, and then solid foods… this wasn't going to be easy.

After a few days of extreme boredom and what practice he could do, he started as Tashigi moaned in her feverish sleep. Dousing the cool rag on her forehead in water and replacing it, he watched her with worry etched onto his face. Why did he help her? He truly did not know, and he couldn't puzzle it out. When she stirred again and opened her eyes, she winced at the light.

"Where-where am I? Where is Shigure? Where are my glasses?" she weakly tried to sit up, and he pushed her down again. Without answering since he hadn't spoken in days and had lost his voice, he boiled some water and made vegetable soup for her while she shivered on the bed. His eyes glinted as he spoon-fed her, laughing silently, as she had not yet realized who he was. "Where is Shigure?" she repeated. Snorting in amusement, he understood her concern and placed the katana next to her.

She cradled it gratefully, and fell asleep again. Zoro watched the rise and fall of her chest under the covers until he too dozed off.

"Noooo! What can we do? Zoro has been captured!" Chopper bawled. He ran around the deck and added to the trouble Usopp was already causing.

"We are currently out of cola!" Franky called from below, worsening everyone's fears. A seagull screeched above them, annoyed at the cacophony from below. They couldn't chase after Zoro; they were too far away. They could only wait for news.

Over several days, Tashigi steadily grew healthier, and her temper grew with her. Finally noticing that her mysterious helper was Zoro, she wouldn't accept his help unless he forced her to after a long and childish argument.

"Oi, drink this."

"I'm not your slave!"

"WHO'S THE ONE DOING THE WORK RIGHT NOW?"

It was a good sign, however, and Zoro left her for longer and longer periods of time to go and train to become stronger. Unfortunately, she could also see her surroundings, the burn marks on the walls, the broken glass sparkling from among the various debris, the vicious cuts along the ground, ceiling and walls, the lingering smell of gunpowder… Thankfully, Zoro had cleared the ship of the dead bodies, and although she had protested weakly against him unceremoniously dumping them overboard like so many sacks of potatoes, she understood the necessity of it all.

She felt indebted to him, though she didn't want to. Thinking back to Loguetown, she remembered something he said; she looked like a close friend, was all she remembered. I'll wrest it from him, she told herself. Dragging the covers from her body, she slid slowly off the bed, trying to force her muscles that hadn't moved much for days on end to obey her. In the end, she hobbled slowly up the steps to take a look at their surroundings. Soon, they would need to find land; their food supply was running low, although neither of them mentioned this. Grimacing as she stubbed her toe against a fallen beam, she finally made onto deck as silently as she could. Zoro was just in front of her, and she could see his muscles ripple as he repeated the same sword kata over and over incessantly. His green hair swayed in the wind, and his black bandanna was tied to his arm as usual. She could see that he was only holding _Wado_; he seemed to favour it more than any other weapon. She took a step towards him, tripped, and fell flat on her face. Her glasses clattered on the deck as she grunted a muffled 'ouch,' and she stood back up again, straightening her rumpled floral shirt. Looking up with a start, she noticed Zoro staring at her; his piercing eyes boring into her soft brown ones. A small corner of his mouth was quirked up humorously and questioningly, and she blushed furiously.

"So… who was that friend that looks like me?" she asked as casually as she could manage.

"You look like her," he absently corrected, his eyes glazed over as he caressed _Wado_.

Due to a sudden intuitive thought, she asked, "_Wado_… He belonged to her, right?"

"What do you care?" he growled, sharply glancing in her direction. He seemed angry- no, _protective_, of his past. Then his eyes lost the hard look, and he smiled apologetically. "I guess you sort of have a right to know. Kuina was my partner, a friend in the dojo, who remained undefeated. Even the adults fell to my three-sword style; she, on the other hand, like you, fought with this one sword, _Wado Ichimonji_. The last time that we fought, we promised each other to become the strongest swordsmen in the world, to take the title and hold it together. She…" He swallowed uncomfortably, his voice cracking slightly. "She said that one day, I would become stronger, that women were weaker, that it couldn't be helped. I sharply retorted to that, but the next day, she was on her way to sharpen this sword, _Wado Ichimonji_, and fell down the stairs. She didn't sur- survive the fall." He blinked back hot tears and suppressed his sadness, not wanting to burden Tashigi with his troubles. Continuing with a thick voice, "The next day, I attended the funeral. I've tried to keep the promise, and using her sword with her father's consent, I've become much stronger. My defeat to Mihawk was almost unbearable." He couldn't control them now, and his tears coursed down his face unchecked. He slowly slid down to the ground, his back to the mast, and lamented the death of his friend. Tashigi, moved my compassion, sat down next to him, and tried to comfort him as he regained control. Then she noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt, and her cheeks were suffused with a strong, pink glow. Not that she didn't like it; it was much the contrary, and she berated herself for having such ulterior motives to her kind actions.

Gradually, his anguish subsided, and he took a shaky breath. He shook out his legs as he stood up, and looked at her. His eyes asked, 'Do you wish to spar?'

Grinning with anticipation, fear and something else she couldn't quite identify, she matched his movements, and her grin turned to a frown. He was in good condition, and was already a better swordsman by far. She would be pushed very far. "Whoever scores two hits gets to order the loser around for a few days," he told her.

Laughing wickedly, he launched the first attack, and she caught it on the flat of _Shigure_. He was only wielding a certain white sword, and the insult, even if it was unconscious, got to her. Growling, she returned the favour except with far more force, and he took a defensive stance, weathering the blow. She smiled internally as he drew Shuusui, and launched an all-out attack. He backed away slowly, dodging and turning aside her attacks without much apparent effort. Then, without warning, _Sandai Kitetsu _snaked out and caught her on the neck.

"One for me," he whispered.

She furiously attacked him, and he blocked everything this time. Slowly, he pushed her until he was on the offensive and she was on the defensive. He brought _Shuusui_ around and would have won right there had she not tripped over and knocked him by accident to the ground. Since she had not intended for this to happen, Zoro couldn't see it coming and wasn't prepared. Her katana was on his nock this time, and he conceded her victory with a small tilt of his head.

Grinning from ear to ear, Tashigi got up and thought of a plan to defeat this marimo. She dodged and blocked and parried all of his blows just in time, and she wasn't so sure of her plan anymore, but it was her only chance, so she shrugged mentally and struck as powerfully as she could horizontally, and then charged him with a stab. He turned aside, and her blade slithered across his hard abdomen. In his eyes was a glint of perverse pleasure, as he was toying with his would-be-slave. Before she regretted it, she kissed him soundly on the lips, and pulled away just as quickly. He shouted a shocked oath, shock written clearly all over his face. Taking advantage of this one-time opening, she lunged once more, and touched _Shigure_ to his chest. His mouth was still open, and his cheeks were a deep red. She pivoted in her high heels before he could see her own blush, and squinting her eyes against the afternoon sun, she clambered back down to her bed. Now, in the peace and quiet of the room, she ran over the events as she sat on the bed and wiped small beads of sweat from her forehead. To her shock and horror, she remembered his lips vividly, and remembered how her body had responded to his unwitting touch. Shivering, she lightly brushed her rosy lips, feeling his kiss remain there, and she sighed.

Up on deck, Zoro was confused and rather embarrassed. Trust her to think of something like that! His thoughts were as confused as a swarming beehive, and he kept thinking back to her kiss, her soft lips meeting his own. With a grimace, he tried to banish the thoughts from his mind as he trod on the debris, making his way to the infirmary.

Zoro groaned and rolled over on the deck as Tashigi, with a red face, reluctantly massaged his bunched and sore muscles. It was her fault that he was so sore and stiff; the whole ship was repaired, polished, waxed and patched until it gleamed like a mirror in the bright sun. he was allowed barely any respite; she commanded him to spar with her, and while she rested, she called out various commands to her unwilling temporary slave, and he had no choice but to over, as he had promised. It was rather amusing to see him whacked in the face by his own smart little joke, and Tashigi revelled in it. Until he had barely made up to the deck before face planting.

Zoro closed his sore eyes in bliss, as her hands worked slowly down his back. Every line and curve she traced burned like fire on his back, and elicited the most relaxing sensations he had experienced. As expected, he soon dozed off, and Tashigi rose gracefully from her uncomfortable crouching position. Drawing Shigure with a steely slither from its delicate scabbard, she closed her eyes and started with a stance she had learned from Zoro. Although she refused to admit it, she enjoyed learning from him and was surprised about how much faster she was able to improve. Her balance had developed immensely, and although she was still more clumsy than him, she was slowly becoming more sure of herself, and caused less of a ruckus.

Sword low and pointed forward, on her right, and crouching with coiled power, she brought the blade diagonally up, spun around like a dancer and lashed out with her left foot in a kick that would have knocked down most people. As she landed, her supple leather boots scuffed softly on the deck. She imbued Shigure with haki as she swung to the right, accidentally creating a blade of compressed air to lash forward towards Zoro. Quicker than she could see, his precious Wado was out, deflecting the blow.


End file.
